Power Of Your Vision

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See terms and conditions at 0:01:29.440 --> 0:01:30.120 UNEs dot co. 0:01:32.880 --> 0:01:34.679 Hi, this is Joel and Victoria. 0:01:34.720 --> 0:01:37.720 Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting 0:01:37.760 --> 0:01:38.440 the ministry. 0:01:38.560 --> 0:01:40.920 If you enjoy today's message, why don't you be a 0:01:40.920 --> 0:01:42.479 blessing and share it with a friend. 0:01:42.760 --> 0:01:45.520 We appreciate you and pray for God's very best in 0:01:45.560 --> 0:01:46.240 your life. 0:01:47.120 --> 0:01:48.080 Well, God bless you. 0:01:48.360 --> 0:01:50.680 It's a joy to come into your homes, and if 0:01:50.680 --> 0:01:53.280 you're ever in our area, please stop by and be 0:01:53.320 --> 0:01:55.720 a part of one of our services. I promise you 0:01:55.880 --> 0:01:58.320 we'll make you feel right at home. I say it often, 0:01:58.440 --> 0:02:01.280 but these are the finest people in all of Houston, Texas, 0:02:01.520 --> 0:02:04.000 right here at Lakewood, So come out whenever you can, 0:02:04.480 --> 0:02:07.120 but thanks for tuning in. Thank you again for coming out. 0:02:07.160 --> 0:02:09.600 And I like to start with something funny. And I 0:02:09.639 --> 0:02:12.720 heard about this husband and wife. They'd been arguing for 0:02:12.800 --> 0:02:15.520 a long time about who should make the coffee in 0:02:15.560 --> 0:02:19.120 the morning. The man definitely thought it was his wife's job, 0:02:19.200 --> 0:02:23.120 but she just didn't agree. After several heated debates, the 0:02:23.160 --> 0:02:25.720 wife finally said to him, I can prove to you 0:02:25.840 --> 0:02:28.600 from the scripture that the man is supposed to make 0:02:28.639 --> 0:02:29.639 the coffee in the morning. 0:02:30.120 --> 0:02:31.560 He said, what are you talking about. 0:02:31.800 --> 0:02:34.679 Nothing in the scripture about the man making the coffee. 0:02:34.960 --> 0:02:36.000 She said, sure, there is. 0:02:36.360 --> 0:02:38.720 She opened her Bible and pointed to the Book of 0:02:39.080 --> 0:02:39.880 he Brews. 0:02:41.880 --> 0:02:44.560 All right, hold up your bible. Say it like you 0:02:44.680 --> 0:02:47.960 mean it. This is my Bible. I am what it says. 0:02:47.960 --> 0:02:48.280 I am. 0:02:48.800 --> 0:02:51.120 I have what it says I have. I can do 0:02:51.200 --> 0:02:53.680 what it says I can do. Today I will be 0:02:53.760 --> 0:02:57.600 taught the word of God. I boldly confess. My mind 0:02:57.680 --> 0:03:00.880 is alert, my heart is receptive. I will never be 0:03:01.000 --> 0:03:05.720 the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you. I want 0:03:05.720 --> 0:03:09.000 to talk to you today about the power of your vision. 0:03:09.919 --> 0:03:13.080 Too many people are stuck in a rupt not because 0:03:13.080 --> 0:03:16.360 they're not talented, not because they don't have God's favor, 0:03:16.880 --> 0:03:21.399 but because their vision is limited. They don't see themselves 0:03:21.480 --> 0:03:26.600 accomplishing their dreams, being promoted, living healthier. They just see 0:03:26.720 --> 0:03:30.480 more of the same. What you see is what you're 0:03:30.520 --> 0:03:34.840 going to move toward. We all have vision. Every one 0:03:34.880 --> 0:03:38.080 of us has a picture in our mind of our self, 0:03:38.520 --> 0:03:42.760 our family, our future. The real question is what does 0:03:42.800 --> 0:03:43.880 your picture look like. 0:03:44.680 --> 0:03:46.120 Do you see yourself. 0:03:45.960 --> 0:03:51.720 Rising higher, overcoming obstacles, living an abundant life, or is 0:03:51.760 --> 0:03:57.000 the picture you have of yourself struggling, defeated, addicted, overweight, 0:03:57.200 --> 0:04:00.800 never getting good breaks. The pictures you allow in your 0:04:00.880 --> 0:04:04.560 mind will determine what kind of life you live. You 0:04:04.640 --> 0:04:08.960 have to protect your vision. If your vision is limited, 0:04:09.320 --> 0:04:13.120 your life will be limited. Seven times in the scripture, 0:04:13.200 --> 0:04:17.280 God asks what do you see? God is interested in 0:04:17.320 --> 0:04:21.360 our vision. Before your dream comes to pass, you have 0:04:21.440 --> 0:04:24.760 to see yourself accomplishing that dream. Got to get a 0:04:24.800 --> 0:04:28.200 picture of it before you lose the weight, before you 0:04:28.240 --> 0:04:31.400 break the addiction. You have to see it happening in 0:04:31.440 --> 0:04:35.719 your imagination. The pictures you keep in front of you, 0:04:35.720 --> 0:04:39.640 your vision not only drops down into your spirit, but 0:04:39.760 --> 0:04:44.000 it gets into your subconscious mind. Once something is in 0:04:44.080 --> 0:04:48.760 the subconscious without even thinking about it. Just like gravity, 0:04:49.000 --> 0:04:53.080 it will pull you toward it. Many people have negative 0:04:53.120 --> 0:05:00.200 images in their subconscious mind. They see themselves weak, defeated, inferior. 0:05:00.200 --> 0:05:03.840 Why it feels like something's always pulling against them. It's 0:05:03.960 --> 0:05:07.479 always a struggle. They never feel good about themselves. It's 0:05:07.520 --> 0:05:11.400 because they have the wrong images. If you will change 0:05:11.440 --> 0:05:21.120 those pictures and start seeing yourself the way God sees you, blessed, prosperous, healthy, strong, talented, successful, 0:05:21.720 --> 0:05:24.839 then instead of having something pulling against you, it'll be 0:05:24.920 --> 0:05:30.040 pulling for you. You'll be moving toward blessing, favor, promotion, increase. 0:05:30.800 --> 0:05:35.200 Our imagination is incredibly powerful. In fact, it says in 0:05:35.240 --> 0:05:41.000 Genesis nothing they imagined was impossible to them. Once you 0:05:41.080 --> 0:05:44.080 get a picture of it, either good or bad, you're 0:05:44.080 --> 0:05:44.480 going to. 0:05:44.440 --> 0:05:45.280 Move toward it. 0:05:46.120 --> 0:05:48.560 I read this study that was done with people that 0:05:48.640 --> 0:05:53.000 needed arthroscopic knee surgery. Their knees were worn down and 0:05:53.040 --> 0:05:56.520 they needed the joint to be cleaned out. These doctors, 0:05:57.040 --> 0:06:01.200 with permission from the family, on a certain number of patients. 0:06:01.680 --> 0:06:05.760 Instead of actually performing the surgery, they simply put the 0:06:05.839 --> 0:06:11.359 patients under anesthesia and made three tiny incisions around the knee, 0:06:11.480 --> 0:06:14.680 but they didn't do anything. Of course, when the patient 0:06:14.720 --> 0:06:18.000 woke up, they thought they had the full surgery. What's 0:06:18.080 --> 0:06:22.120 interesting is two years later, the patients that had the 0:06:22.240 --> 0:06:26.480 fake surgery reported just as much relief from the pain 0:06:26.880 --> 0:06:30.120 as the patients that had the actual surgery. And it 0:06:30.240 --> 0:06:34.320 wasn't just in their mind. When the doctors examined their 0:06:34.360 --> 0:06:38.320 knees over time, they could see how their knees had improved. 0:06:39.040 --> 0:06:43.680 The doctor's conclusion was, since the brain expected the knee 0:06:43.720 --> 0:06:45.560 to get better, it got better. 0:06:46.000 --> 0:06:46.920 It helped it to heal. 0:06:47.720 --> 0:06:52.279 You could say those doctors tricked the patients into having 0:06:52.279 --> 0:06:56.040 a new image, and just like gravity, they moved toward it. 0:06:56.760 --> 0:06:57.880 Let's make it practical. 0:06:58.400 --> 0:07:01.320 You may not feel blessed, but if you'll get in 0:07:01.360 --> 0:07:05.159 agreement with God and get a picture of yourself blessed, 0:07:05.320 --> 0:07:08.000 you're gonna move toward it. Your brain is going to say, 0:07:08.000 --> 0:07:10.280 come on now, let's get going. They're supposed to be blessed. 0:07:11.240 --> 0:07:14.680 The medical report may not look good, but instead of 0:07:14.720 --> 0:07:20.160 seeing yourself going downhill, start seeing yourself strong, healthy, full 0:07:20.200 --> 0:07:23.480 of energy, full of vitality. That's what you're moving toward. 0:07:24.480 --> 0:07:25.120 Your dream. 0:07:25.280 --> 0:07:28.960 In the natural may look impossible. But I'm asking you 0:07:29.200 --> 0:07:32.360 to look out through your eyes of faith and see 0:07:32.400 --> 0:07:36.400 yourself moving into that new home, see yourself getting married, 0:07:36.760 --> 0:07:40.960 see yourself taking that mission's trip. When you see yourself 0:07:41.080 --> 0:07:45.280 accomplish in your dreams, all these unseen forces begin to 0:07:45.320 --> 0:07:49.320 move in your direction. This is what happened with Abraham. 0:07:49.560 --> 0:07:52.040 God gave him the promise that he was going to 0:07:52.080 --> 0:07:55.960 be the father of many nations in the natural it 0:07:56.000 --> 0:07:59.680 was impossible. Abraham was eighty years old and didn't have 0:07:59.720 --> 0:08:04.440 one child. But what's interesting is God didn't just give 0:08:04.520 --> 0:08:07.840 him the promise. God gave him a picture to look at. 0:08:08.640 --> 0:08:12.600 God said, Abraham, go outside and look up at the stars. 0:08:13.120 --> 0:08:16.800 That's how many descendants you will have. I read where 0:08:17.120 --> 0:08:20.960 there are six thousand stars in the eastern sky where 0:08:20.960 --> 0:08:25.000 Abraham was that night. It's not a coincidence that there 0:08:25.040 --> 0:08:29.360 are six thousand promises in the scripture. God was saying, 0:08:29.840 --> 0:08:32.520 any promise that you can get a vision for, I 0:08:32.559 --> 0:08:36.400 will bring it to pass. God told Abraham, go down 0:08:36.400 --> 0:08:39.199 to the beach and look at the grains of sand. 0:08:39.760 --> 0:08:42.960 That's how many relatives you're going to have. Why did 0:08:43.000 --> 0:08:46.480 God give him a picture? God knew there would be 0:08:46.600 --> 0:08:49.600 times when it seemed like the promise wasn't going to 0:08:49.640 --> 0:08:53.480 come to pass. When Abraham was tempted to get discouraged 0:08:53.880 --> 0:08:56.360 and to start thinking it's never going to happen, he 0:08:56.400 --> 0:08:59.800 would go outside and look up at the sky. When 0:08:59.880 --> 0:09:03.240 he saw the stars, faith would rise in his heart. 0:09:03.760 --> 0:09:06.280 Something would tell him it's gonna happen. I can see 0:09:06.320 --> 0:09:10.079 it in the morning. The thoughts came, telling him you're 0:09:10.120 --> 0:09:14.240 too old, Abraham, it's too late. You didn't hear God right. 0:09:14.840 --> 0:09:17.200 Abraham would go down to the beach and look at 0:09:17.240 --> 0:09:21.280 the grains of sand. Something would come alive on the inside. 0:09:21.760 --> 0:09:26.440 His faith would be restored. Just like with Abraham, there 0:09:26.480 --> 0:09:29.760 will be times when it seems like your dream is 0:09:29.800 --> 0:09:32.679 not going to come to pass. It's been too long, 0:09:33.200 --> 0:09:36.240 the medical report looks too bad. You don't have the money, 0:09:36.480 --> 0:09:41.480 the connections. You could easily get discouraged and give up. Now, 0:09:41.760 --> 0:09:44.480 just like Abraham, you got to go back to the 0:09:44.520 --> 0:09:48.280 picture God gave you. When you close your eyes, you 0:09:48.360 --> 0:09:52.480 have to see yourself strong and healthy, see the problem 0:09:52.559 --> 0:09:57.439 turning around, see your family restored, see yourself paying. 0:09:57.240 --> 0:09:58.000 Off your house. 0:09:58.480 --> 0:10:02.320 Your vision is what's going to keep you encouraged. God 0:10:02.400 --> 0:10:05.240 is saying to us what he said to Abraham. If 0:10:05.240 --> 0:10:08.040 you can see it, I will do it. If you'll 0:10:08.040 --> 0:10:09.760 get a vision for it, I will. 0:10:09.559 --> 0:10:10.400 Bring it to pass. 0:10:11.280 --> 0:10:14.120 Several years ago, a lady came down to the altar 0:10:14.400 --> 0:10:17.200 for prayer and she had just gone through a very 0:10:17.200 --> 0:10:20.880 painful divorce. Her husband of many years left her for 0:10:20.960 --> 0:10:25.360 another woman, and she was very devastated, very heartbroken. She 0:10:25.400 --> 0:10:27.800 didn't see how she could ever be happy again. And 0:10:28.280 --> 0:10:30.880 I did my best to encourage her, tell her that 0:10:30.920 --> 0:10:33.440 God was going to give her beauty for those ashes, 0:10:33.480 --> 0:10:35.400 and God was going to pay her back for that 0:10:35.600 --> 0:10:40.280 unfair situation. She listened, but didn't seem like my words 0:10:40.440 --> 0:10:43.560 had much of an impact. She was very depressed. She 0:10:43.600 --> 0:10:45.880 couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel. 0:10:46.559 --> 0:10:49.840 When our vision is negative, our life is going to 0:10:49.880 --> 0:10:55.000 fallow that same direction. Sometimes it's difficult, you don't feel 0:10:55.040 --> 0:10:58.439 like doing it, but you cannot afford to sit around 0:10:58.520 --> 0:11:02.280 in self pity. Life may not be fair, but God 0:11:02.480 --> 0:11:06.520 is fair. You got to shake off the disappointments and 0:11:06.559 --> 0:11:11.800 get a fresh new vision. Your life is not over 0:11:12.040 --> 0:11:15.439 because somebody left you. If they walked out on you, 0:11:15.440 --> 0:11:19.120 you didn't need them. God's plan was not canceled because 0:11:19.120 --> 0:11:23.840 of a disappointment, an unfair situation, or even because of 0:11:23.880 --> 0:11:27.240 a mistake you made. If you'll get a new vision 0:11:27.840 --> 0:11:30.679 instead of being a setback, God will turn it into 0:11:30.760 --> 0:11:33.640 a set up to do something greater. And she was 0:11:33.720 --> 0:11:37.120 weeping and weeping and telling me all the reasons she 0:11:37.160 --> 0:11:39.760 would never meet anybody, and how she was too old 0:11:39.840 --> 0:11:42.560 and just too unattractive, on and on, none of which 0:11:42.600 --> 0:11:46.120 were true. I asked her to do something that would 0:11:46.120 --> 0:11:48.959 help her to have a new image. I said, get 0:11:48.960 --> 0:11:52.240 a picture frame and put it on the table by 0:11:52.280 --> 0:11:55.480 your bed with no picture in it, just an empty frame. 0:11:56.040 --> 0:11:59.679 And every time you see that frame, you just imagine 0:11:59.720 --> 0:12:02.040 that's going to be a picture of you with the 0:12:02.120 --> 0:12:05.520 new person God brings into your life. As an act 0:12:05.559 --> 0:12:08.800 of faith, she put that picture frame there. Every time 0:12:08.880 --> 0:12:11.840 she saw it, she would begin to thank God that 0:12:11.920 --> 0:12:14.960 he was directing her steps, bringing the right person into 0:12:15.000 --> 0:12:17.360 her life, giving her beauty for her ashes. 0:12:18.080 --> 0:12:19.199 She got rid of. 0:12:19.200 --> 0:12:23.720 The picture of defeat, being lonely, being depressed. She started 0:12:23.760 --> 0:12:28.080 seeing herself beautiful, happy with the person of her dreams. 0:12:28.960 --> 0:12:32.920 Three years later, she showed up to the altar once again. 0:12:33.040 --> 0:12:36.560 She was weeping and weeping, But this time they were 0:12:36.600 --> 0:12:37.960 not tears of sadness. 0:12:38.200 --> 0:12:39.360 They were tears of joy. 0:12:39.880 --> 0:12:43.440 You see, she had this very handsome gentleman by her side. 0:12:43.679 --> 0:12:47.000 She said, Joel, this is the man that I saw 0:12:47.080 --> 0:12:49.240 in that picture frame that you had me put up. 0:12:49.520 --> 0:12:51.679 We're gonna get married next Saturday. 0:12:53.040 --> 0:12:57.080 The scripture says, weeping may endure for a night, but 0:12:57.240 --> 0:13:02.160 joy is coming in the morning. The question is what's 0:13:02.160 --> 0:13:05.480 in your picture frame? What do you see when you 0:13:05.520 --> 0:13:09.120 look out into your future More of the same. I've 0:13:09.120 --> 0:13:13.160 reached my limits. My business will never succeed. I'll always 0:13:13.200 --> 0:13:17.000 be lonely, overweight, addicted. That's going to keep you where 0:13:17.040 --> 0:13:20.360 you are. You've got to change what's in the frame. 0:13:20.760 --> 0:13:23.680 Got to put a new picture in there. Start seeing 0:13:23.679 --> 0:13:29.600 yourself strong, beautiful, successful, fulfilled. Your life is not going 0:13:29.640 --> 0:13:31.840 to change until you change the picture. 0:13:32.720 --> 0:13:34.040 This is what my father did. 0:13:34.480 --> 0:13:39.240 He grew up extremely poor, had no money, no education, 0:13:39.520 --> 0:13:43.400 no real future to speak of. But at seventeen years old, 0:13:43.840 --> 0:13:45.640 my father gave his life to Christ. 0:13:46.080 --> 0:13:47.440 God called him to preach. 0:13:48.040 --> 0:13:52.120 He began to see himself ministering to thousands of people. 0:13:52.880 --> 0:13:56.000 That was unheard of back there in the nineteen thirties, 0:13:56.320 --> 0:13:59.480 there weren't big churches like we have today. Daddy had 0:13:59.480 --> 0:14:02.840 never been to seminary, especially not at seventeen, never had 0:14:02.880 --> 0:14:06.040 any formal training. All he knew how to do was 0:14:06.080 --> 0:14:10.640 pitt cotton. But my father changed the picture in the frame. 0:14:11.400 --> 0:14:16.440 Instead of seeing himself poor, defeated, barely getting by, he 0:14:16.559 --> 0:14:20.320 started seeing himself touching the world. He went on to 0:14:20.360 --> 0:14:23.600 do exactly that for end. Your life is going to 0:14:23.640 --> 0:14:26.640 fall at your vision. If you have a small vision, 0:14:27.120 --> 0:14:29.760 you're going to have a small life. But if you 0:14:29.800 --> 0:14:33.200 will let the seeds of greatness that God's planning on 0:14:33.240 --> 0:14:36.440 the inside take root, if you'll have a big vision, 0:14:36.920 --> 0:14:40.480 God will take you places you never thought possible. I 0:14:40.520 --> 0:14:43.400 remember as a little boy. Lakewood was in our very 0:14:43.480 --> 0:14:47.640 first auditorium. It held two hundred people. My father would 0:14:47.680 --> 0:14:50.400 get up on Sundays. He would point to the right 0:14:50.760 --> 0:14:53.760 and say to the congregation, can you see that new 0:14:53.840 --> 0:14:58.000 sanctuary seating a thousand people? Can you see it totally 0:14:58.040 --> 0:15:01.320 paid off? All that were out there was an empty 0:15:01.400 --> 0:15:04.840 field with cows grazing in it. The visitors thought my 0:15:04.880 --> 0:15:07.960 father had lost his mind, but he wasn't looking at 0:15:08.000 --> 0:15:10.440 it in the natural. He was looking out through his 0:15:10.560 --> 0:15:14.960 eyes of faith. Eventually that sanctuary came into reality, plus 0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:19.160 many many others, some of you today, If you would 0:15:19.280 --> 0:15:22.680 just put new pictures in your frame, your life would 0:15:22.720 --> 0:15:25.160 go to a new level. You don't have to figure 0:15:25.160 --> 0:15:27.520 out how it's going to happen. All you've got to 0:15:27.560 --> 0:15:31.400 do is believe one touch of God's favor can bring 0:15:31.440 --> 0:15:34.880 any dream to pass. One good break, one promotion, one 0:15:34.960 --> 0:15:39.040 phone call, and what looked like an impossibility, all of 0:15:39.040 --> 0:15:42.640 a sudden is a reality. You've heard the saying, if 0:15:42.680 --> 0:15:46.040 you can see the invisible, God can do the impossible. 0:15:47.120 --> 0:15:49.840 When we were trying to acquire this place, the former 0:15:49.920 --> 0:15:52.760 Compact Center, it was a three and a half year battle, 0:15:52.800 --> 0:15:55.800 and all kinds of things came against us, and at 0:15:55.880 --> 0:15:58.640 times in the natural it looked like it wasn't going 0:15:58.680 --> 0:16:02.600 to happen. But instead of worrying about it, letting those 0:16:02.640 --> 0:16:06.880 negative pictures take root all through the day, just like 0:16:06.960 --> 0:16:10.560 my father did, I would see this place as being 0:16:10.680 --> 0:16:14.680 ours in my imagination. I could see the lake, would 0:16:14.760 --> 0:16:18.280 sign out front. I could see myself up here ministry. 0:16:18.800 --> 0:16:22.000 I could see all of you long before you got here. 0:16:23.000 --> 0:16:25.400 Many times at night, Victoria and I would drive up 0:16:25.440 --> 0:16:28.120 to the building. If nothing was going on, we'd get 0:16:28.160 --> 0:16:33.040 out and walk around it and pray, believe, and dream. 0:16:33.440 --> 0:16:37.400 That image was becoming ingrained in our thinking. The more 0:16:37.440 --> 0:16:40.600 we saw it, the more faith rose in our hearts. 0:16:41.080 --> 0:16:45.120 In my imagination, I could already see the mayor handing 0:16:45.200 --> 0:16:49.080 us the keys. I could already see the confetti falling 0:16:49.160 --> 0:16:50.520 during the groundbreaking service. 0:16:50.920 --> 0:16:52.280 I could already. 0:16:51.840 --> 0:16:56.200 See it full of thousands of victors and not victims. 0:16:57.040 --> 0:17:00.239 For three and a half years, we kept that image 0:17:00.280 --> 0:17:03.720 in front of us. On December first, two thousand and three, 0:17:04.080 --> 0:17:06.639 when the mayor handed us the key, it was just 0:17:06.800 --> 0:17:12.920 like I had seen it before. On December thirteenth, when 0:17:12.960 --> 0:17:17.280 the confetti fell on the groundbreaking services, it was just 0:17:17.440 --> 0:17:21.760 like I had seen it before. In two thousand and five, 0:17:21.840 --> 0:17:24.840 the week of the grand opening, a reporter asked me 0:17:25.440 --> 0:17:27.320 what it was going to be like to stand up 0:17:27.359 --> 0:17:30.439 and minister here for the first time. I didn't say it, 0:17:30.480 --> 0:17:33.480 but I thought to myself, I'd ministered in this building 0:17:33.640 --> 0:17:36.840 thousands of times before. Friends, you got to see it 0:17:36.880 --> 0:17:39.320 on the inside before it's going to come to pass 0:17:39.359 --> 0:17:43.920 on the outside. Have you ever seen yourself accomplishing your dreams? 0:17:44.240 --> 0:17:45.680 Graduating from college. 0:17:45.760 --> 0:17:49.600 Have you ever seen yourself healthy, whole, free from addictions, 0:17:50.040 --> 0:17:53.960 free from any kind of sicknesses? In nineteen eighty one, 0:17:54.080 --> 0:17:56.639 my mother was very sick with cancer of the liver. 0:17:57.119 --> 0:18:00.040 She weighed eighty nine pounds and her skin was a 0:18:00.119 --> 0:18:03.240 yellow as can being. I was away at college, and 0:18:03.280 --> 0:18:06.440 when I came back home, I hardly recognized my mother. 0:18:06.600 --> 0:18:10.000 She looked so bad. One thing my mother did was 0:18:10.560 --> 0:18:13.439 she put up pictures all over the house from a 0:18:13.520 --> 0:18:16.800 time when she was healthy. She had her wedding pictures 0:18:16.880 --> 0:18:20.320 up on the refrigerator, all over the den. In her 0:18:20.320 --> 0:18:23.600 bathroom mirror, she had a picture of herself riding a 0:18:23.680 --> 0:18:27.880 horse in Montana with a big pink cowboy hat. I thought, 0:18:27.880 --> 0:18:30.960 what are all these pictures doing up? My mother had 0:18:31.000 --> 0:18:34.800 put them there to create a new image on the inside. 0:18:35.359 --> 0:18:37.680 You see, when she looked in the mirror, she saw 0:18:37.800 --> 0:18:41.040 death staring back at her. She didn't want that image 0:18:41.200 --> 0:18:45.159 to become ingrained in her thinking. Now, everywhere she looked 0:18:45.200 --> 0:18:49.800 all over the house, she saw herself, healthy, strong, happy, 0:18:50.040 --> 0:18:56.199 fulfilling her destiny. That's the image she let take root. Today, 0:18:56.560 --> 0:19:00.240 thirty one years later, she looks just like she did 0:19:00.280 --> 0:19:05.560 in those pictures, as strong and healthy as convenient. I've 0:19:05.600 --> 0:19:10.040 found life tries to push us down. Life tries to 0:19:10.080 --> 0:19:13.040 put out the fire that God lights on the inside, 0:19:13.520 --> 0:19:18.840 through disappointments, bad breaks, people discouraging us. Too often we 0:19:18.960 --> 0:19:22.560 settle for mediocrity. We miss out on the fullness of 0:19:22.560 --> 0:19:25.960 what God has in store. Some of you today, your 0:19:26.080 --> 0:19:29.640 vision is too small. God has a much bigger life 0:19:29.720 --> 0:19:30.480 than your living. 0:19:31.119 --> 0:19:33.280 But you're letting how you were raised. 0:19:33.240 --> 0:19:37.080 Your environment, perhaps the disappointments of the past to set 0:19:37.119 --> 0:19:40.280 the limits for your life. You've got to enlarge your vision. 0:19:41.000 --> 0:19:43.680 Your parents may have reached a certain level, but God 0:19:43.720 --> 0:19:46.800 wants you to go further. There should be something you're 0:19:46.880 --> 0:19:50.679 dreaming about that's too big for you to accomplish on 0:19:50.720 --> 0:19:54.640 your own, something that you cannot afford, something that you're 0:19:54.680 --> 0:19:58.320 not qualified for. It's going to take God's favor, God's 0:19:58.320 --> 0:20:01.719 blessing to bring it to pass. Friends, have a big vision. 0:20:02.040 --> 0:20:05.840 That's your faith being released. Heard a story about a 0:20:05.840 --> 0:20:08.920 little frog that was born at the bottom of a well, 0:20:09.000 --> 0:20:11.919 then a small circular well like you'd see at a farm, 0:20:11.960 --> 0:20:14.720 and it was he and his family that lived down there, 0:20:14.760 --> 0:20:17.400 and this little frog was so happy, so. 0:20:17.560 --> 0:20:19.080 Content all day long. 0:20:19.160 --> 0:20:21.119 To swim and splash in the water. 0:20:21.520 --> 0:20:22.920 He thought, life is good. 0:20:23.240 --> 0:20:26.600 We've got all the water in the world to ourselves. 0:20:27.359 --> 0:20:29.840 As he got a little older, he noticed the light 0:20:29.960 --> 0:20:32.040 at the top of the well and wondered what was 0:20:32.119 --> 0:20:36.040 up there. One day, very carefully, he climbed up the 0:20:36.080 --> 0:20:39.600 side of the well, and with great caution he looked 0:20:39.640 --> 0:20:42.919 over the edge, and the first thing he saw was 0:20:42.960 --> 0:20:43.520 a pond. 0:20:44.080 --> 0:20:45.400 He couldn't believe it. 0:20:45.400 --> 0:20:48.120 It was thousands of times more water than he had. 0:20:48.760 --> 0:20:51.120 He hopped a little more and came to a lake. 0:20:51.720 --> 0:20:55.240 He stood there in amazement, hopped a little more and 0:20:55.359 --> 0:20:58.360 came to the ocean, where as far as he could 0:20:58.400 --> 0:21:03.000 see miles and miles of water. He began to realize 0:21:03.240 --> 0:21:06.840 his vision was so limited. He thought he had it all, 0:21:07.320 --> 0:21:10.119 But all he really had was a drop in the 0:21:10.160 --> 0:21:12.919 bucket compared to what God wanted him to enjoy. 0:21:14.080 --> 0:21:16.040 God's dream for your life. 0:21:15.960 --> 0:21:19.480 Is so much bigger, so much larger, so much more 0:21:19.520 --> 0:21:23.240 rewarding than you can imagine. You haven't touched the surface 0:21:23.520 --> 0:21:26.960 of what God has in store. But too often we're 0:21:27.000 --> 0:21:30.320 like that little frog. We've been enclosed in our own 0:21:30.359 --> 0:21:35.840 little well. Our vision is very limited. It's called our environment, how. 0:21:35.720 --> 0:21:36.560 We were raised. 0:21:37.040 --> 0:21:40.600 All we've known is certain way of thinking, certain way 0:21:40.640 --> 0:21:43.560 of living. It may not be bad, but God has 0:21:43.640 --> 0:21:47.920 much more in store. I'm asking all of us, like 0:21:48.000 --> 0:21:50.720 that little frog, to go a little further than you're 0:21:50.760 --> 0:21:54.040 used to, break out of your box and look out 0:21:54.160 --> 0:22:00.160 over the horizon. Dream bigger, Think bigger, See bigger. God 0:22:00.280 --> 0:22:03.720 has oceans that he wants you to enjoy. I have 0:22:03.840 --> 0:22:06.919 friends that pastor a church in another state. When they 0:22:06.960 --> 0:22:10.920 first started their church, they barely had anything. They were 0:22:10.920 --> 0:22:15.919 living in a tiny apartment, no furniture, practically could hardly 0:22:15.960 --> 0:22:19.000 pay their rent each month. They would both work during 0:22:19.040 --> 0:22:22.800 the day and then on Sundays about fifteen people would 0:22:22.800 --> 0:22:25.320 come to their apartment and they would have church. This 0:22:25.359 --> 0:22:29.240 went on year after year with no growth. They were 0:22:29.359 --> 0:22:32.719 very tempted to get discouraged. They knew God had put 0:22:32.800 --> 0:22:35.320 something bigger in their heart, but didn't look like it 0:22:35.400 --> 0:22:38.440 was going to happen. But rather than sit around in 0:22:38.480 --> 0:22:42.680 their little apartment every night feel sorry for themselves feel 0:22:42.720 --> 0:22:47.200 like failures, they did something interesting. They would drive down 0:22:47.560 --> 0:22:50.600 to one of the big fancy hotels in their area. 0:22:51.280 --> 0:22:54.080 They didn't even have money to pay for parking they'd 0:22:54.160 --> 0:22:56.479 have to park way down the road and walk the 0:22:56.520 --> 0:22:59.480 rest of the way. They would go into that hotel 0:22:59.520 --> 0:23:04.600 lobby and night after night just sit there and dream. 0:23:05.000 --> 0:23:09.000 They wanted to put themselves in an atmosphere of victory, 0:23:09.440 --> 0:23:13.239 an atmosphere of success. As they would look around at 0:23:13.280 --> 0:23:16.720 all the beautiful surroundings, they would begin to thank God. 0:23:17.000 --> 0:23:19.159 One day, you're going to bring our dreams to pass. 0:23:19.400 --> 0:23:22.120 One day we're going to be pastoring a church with thousands. 0:23:22.520 --> 0:23:26.400 What were they doing enlarging their vision? They got out 0:23:26.400 --> 0:23:30.600 of their will to help expand their thinking. Today, twenty 0:23:30.600 --> 0:23:33.919 five years later, they're living their dream. They're pastoring a 0:23:34.040 --> 0:23:37.760 very successful church like them. You may be at a 0:23:37.800 --> 0:23:41.520 place that doesn't seem very good. What you see on 0:23:41.600 --> 0:23:45.200 the outside doesn't match what God's put on the inside. 0:23:45.680 --> 0:23:50.200 But don't sit around in self pity, depress, discourage. Go 0:23:50.280 --> 0:23:54.040 out and find some place you can dream. Go to 0:23:54.119 --> 0:23:56.959 the park and watch the sunset, look up at the 0:23:57.000 --> 0:23:59.199 stars and think about God's goodness. 0:23:59.800 --> 0:24:01.440 To get out of that well. 0:24:01.400 --> 0:24:05.720 Find someplace that inspires you, someplace where your faith will 0:24:05.720 --> 0:24:08.879 be elevated. And that's why it's important to come to 0:24:08.960 --> 0:24:12.080 a church like Lakewood where people are going to build 0:24:12.119 --> 0:24:14.720 you up and not tear you down. Where people are 0:24:14.720 --> 0:24:19.320 going to challenge you to rise higher, to become all 0:24:19.440 --> 0:24:20.680 God's created. 0:24:20.280 --> 0:24:22.000 You to be. Becausten. 0:24:22.080 --> 0:24:24.560 I know people they come home from work every night 0:24:24.800 --> 0:24:28.520 and watch the same depressing TV shows week after week 0:24:28.720 --> 0:24:29.440 and wonder. 0:24:29.200 --> 0:24:30.240 Why nothing gets better. 0:24:31.119 --> 0:24:33.760 Now, if you're going to enlarge your vision, you got 0:24:33.800 --> 0:24:37.760 to get out of a limited environment. Put yourself somewhere 0:24:37.800 --> 0:24:40.960 bigger than you are right now, that atmosphere of victory 0:24:40.960 --> 0:24:45.159 of success. I heard a famous rapper being interviewed on 0:24:45.240 --> 0:24:50.160 television years ago. The interviewer ask him why his lyrics 0:24:50.200 --> 0:24:53.359 were so filled with hatred and violence, and why he 0:24:53.480 --> 0:24:57.840 always talked about killings and shootings and muggings. He said, oh, man, 0:24:58.200 --> 0:25:02.159 I'm just rapping about life. That's the way the world is. 0:25:03.160 --> 0:25:05.760 The truth is, that's not the way the world is. 0:25:06.000 --> 0:25:08.960 That's the way his world is. That's the way it is. 0:25:09.000 --> 0:25:11.920 The six blocks around his house. If he had drive 0:25:12.040 --> 0:25:15.560 three miles down the freeway, he'd see people loving their families, 0:25:15.680 --> 0:25:20.200 people going to colleges, people starting businesses, people fulfilling their destiny. 0:25:21.800 --> 0:25:27.160 What's the problem His vision is being limited by his environment. 0:25:27.920 --> 0:25:30.440 All he's got to do is get in a different environment, 0:25:30.640 --> 0:25:35.480 an environment that inspires him instead of depresses him. I 0:25:35.560 --> 0:25:38.800 have friends that run an orphanage in a very poor nation. 0:25:39.640 --> 0:25:42.960 Every Friday, they go down to the slums and they 0:25:43.040 --> 0:25:46.159 take these children to the beach. They call it dream 0:25:46.280 --> 0:25:49.680 Day as the children play in the sand and the water, 0:25:49.800 --> 0:25:52.520 and they look at the beautiful ocean and they watch 0:25:52.600 --> 0:25:56.640 the magnificent sunsets. They talk to them about how God 0:25:56.720 --> 0:25:58.640 knew them before they were formed in. 0:25:58.640 --> 0:25:59.520 Their mother's womb. 0:26:00.119 --> 0:26:03.439 They have seeds of greatness on the inside. They speak 0:26:03.560 --> 0:26:07.600 vision into them. They're finding that these children from the 0:26:07.800 --> 0:26:13.600 slums are overcoming incredible odds, getting scholarships to colleges, breaking 0:26:13.680 --> 0:26:16.200 out of poverty, becoming leaders. 0:26:15.800 --> 0:26:17.240 In the community. 0:26:17.920 --> 0:26:21.640 Proverbs twenty nine to eighteen says where there is no vision, 0:26:22.000 --> 0:26:25.440 the people perish. Doesn't say where there's no money, where 0:26:25.480 --> 0:26:29.080 there's no opportunity, where there's no talent. What limits us 0:26:29.400 --> 0:26:32.480 is a lack of vision. If you're going to enlarge 0:26:32.480 --> 0:26:36.720 your vision, you need to get around other dreamers. Get 0:26:36.760 --> 0:26:40.760 around people that are going places, people that inspire you 0:26:40.840 --> 0:26:44.840 to rise higher. If you're the smartest one in your group, 0:26:45.240 --> 0:26:46.920 your group is too small. 0:26:47.080 --> 0:26:48.480 You've got to get out of your well. 0:26:49.240 --> 0:26:51.520 You need to be around people that know more than you, 0:26:51.920 --> 0:26:53.359 people that are doing more than you. 0:26:54.080 --> 0:26:55.920 Don't be intimidated by them. 0:26:56.200 --> 0:26:59.840 God brings people into our life to help expand our 0:27:01.240 --> 0:27:05.760 Only small minded people get jealous. Only small minded people 0:27:05.800 --> 0:27:07.840 try to compete and prove that they're really better. 0:27:08.280 --> 0:27:08.440 Now. 0:27:08.520 --> 0:27:12.360 Don't be insecure, be inspired. The right attitude is. 0:27:12.320 --> 0:27:14.320 Hey, God, if you did it for them, you can 0:27:14.359 --> 0:27:14.879 do it for me. 0:27:15.680 --> 0:27:20.360 It makes a difference who you associate with. Elisha hung 0:27:20.400 --> 0:27:24.360 around Elijah and he got a double portion. Joshua Will 0:27:24.440 --> 0:27:27.320 hung around Moses and he went into the Promised Land. 0:27:28.040 --> 0:27:32.320 Samson hung around compromisers and he missed his destiny. You 0:27:32.440 --> 0:27:35.560 got to get around other dreamers. Your vision is going 0:27:35.640 --> 0:27:39.200 to be greatly impacted by who you choose to associate 0:27:39.240 --> 0:27:43.640 with friends. What's in your future has much to do 0:27:44.040 --> 0:27:47.240 with what you can see. I'm asking you to see 0:27:47.280 --> 0:27:55.000 yourself blessed, prosperous, strong, healthy, talented, successful, accomplishing your dreams. 0:27:55.240 --> 0:27:57.359 Don't get stuck in a rut and just see. 0:27:57.280 --> 0:27:58.160 More of the same. 0:27:58.800 --> 0:28:01.320 You may have been through dissappointments, but this is a 0:28:01.359 --> 0:28:04.600 new day. Your greatest victories are still in your future. 0:28:05.160 --> 0:28:08.320 Now make sure what you put in that picture frame 0:28:08.920 --> 0:28:11.560 is too big for you to accomplish. 0:28:11.000 --> 0:28:14.560 On your own dream. Big enlarger vision. 0:28:15.320 --> 0:28:17.880 If you'll keep the right picture in front of you, 0:28:18.280 --> 0:28:21.200 instead of having something pulling against you, it'll be pulling 0:28:21.240 --> 0:28:21.720 for you. 0:28:22.240 --> 0:28:23.000 Like Abraham. 0:28:23.240 --> 0:28:26.159 Even though it looks impossible, God will bring the promise 0:28:26.200 --> 0:28:29.200 to pass, and one day, instead of just having the dream. 0:28:29.160 --> 0:28:30.399 You'll be living the dream. 0:28:30.640 --> 0:28:34.160 What you see will become a reality. In Jesus' name, 0:28:34.480 --> 0:28:38.280 Do you receive it today? We never like to close 0:28:38.280 --> 0:28:41.960 our broadcast without giving you an opportunity to make Jesus 0:28:42.040 --> 0:28:44.360 the lord of your life. Would you pray with me? 0:28:45.200 --> 0:28:50.680 Just say, Lord, Jesus, I repent of my sins, Come 0:28:50.720 --> 0:28:55.200 into my heart, wash me clean. I make you my 0:28:55.320 --> 0:28:59.400 Lord and savior. Friends, if you prayed that simple prayer, 0:28:59.520 --> 0:29:01.760 we believe he got born again. Get in a good 0:29:01.760 --> 0:29:04.240 Bible based church, keep God first place. 0:29:04.480 --> 0:29:06.480 He's gonna take you place as you've never dreamed of. 0:29:07.440 --> 0:29:10.000 Thanks so much for listening to today's message. 0:29:10.120 --> 0:29:11.920 I hope you'll subscribe. 0:29:11.440 --> 0:29:14.160 So you can receive the latest podcast to keep you 0:29:14.280 --> 0:29:16.400 encouraged and inspired all through the week. 0:29:16.600 --> 0:29:18.800 Help us to continue to share the message of hope 0:29:18.800 --> 0:29:22.280 with those all around the world. Visit Joelosting dot com 0:29:22.400 --> 0:29:25.000 or click the link in the description to partner with 0:29:25.080 --> 0:29:25.600 us today. 0:29:25.840 --> 0:29:28.280 We hope you'll share this message with a friend and 0:29:28.400 --> 0:29:31.200 be sure to follow us on social media. We're praying 0:29:31.280 --> 0:29:31.640 for you. 0:29:31.880 --> 0:29:33.920 I know God's best is still ahead. 0:29:34.160 --> 0:29:35.240 We'll see you next time. 0:29:38.240 --> 0:29:40.760 More than ever before, people are turning to the church 0:29:40.800 --> 0:29:44.360 for their mental health struggles. Unfortunately, the church has largely 0:29:44.440 --> 0:29:47.520 been ill equipped to help. That is until now. Join 0:29:47.600 --> 0:29:50.600 nearly fifty thousand people just like you who've enrolled in 0:29:50.640 --> 0:29:53.520 the Mental Health Coach training program and become equipped to 0:29:53.640 --> 0:29:56.000 help for a limited time. 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